One of the most laughable arguments that is noticed online today is that "seo is dead, and there is nothing you can do to optimize your website anymore." Nothing is further from the truth, and the discussion of seo being dead is simply one of the definition of the work process that seo companies and advertising agencies use. SEO is the short version of "search engine optimization" which is a process by which a website and it's code are manipulated in order to gain better rankings on search engine results for different phrases. The process involves targeting an important phrase, then manipulating the elements that we know or assume are involved in how Google decides which website should be in which place when the phrase is searched for. While seo used to be about building volumes of links to a website or using certain terms over and over on the site, Google has improved it's algorithm to strip out those results which were specifically exploiting the strategies to rank, and favoring those who are simply providing the best information on a subject. If you approach your seo with the mindset that you are an authority on a subject, and are building the ranking of your website for those targeted searches by providing the best information on that subject to your readers or customers, then the only piece you are missing from the seo process is the promotion of your content. Google wants you to be the best source of information about your products, services or ideas. Become that authority by producing the discussions that go with being an actual authority, and let Google make their decision.

We can influence Google by promoting our new content across the internet. What this means is that Google makes it's determination about the importance of content on a subject by the number of links that come from other websites that are on that same subject. This means that in order for a link to have value to you, there must be something on that page about the subject that you are talking about. If it is just a link from an unrelated page, Google sees no value and it does not effect your rankings. When the link comes from another website that has content about your subject, Google sees that as appropriate and valuable to people reading that page. This is the determining factor to prove to Google that your content is better than another website's content, the number of links to the content from spaces that are also considered authorities on the subject.

Promoting your content is simply the process of making people know it is there, and asking for links to it from their websites. The easiest method of content promotion is social media and social bookmarking, where you mention your content to the people you are connected to, and who are probably interested in the same subjects as you. Ask them to read it and share it, and let the process evolve naturally. Social bookmarking is posting of the information to a space that is searchable by people who are not connected directly to you, but who are looking for new information being shared by people who are also interested. Placing the knowledge that your content exists in these spaces allows people to find it when they are looking for information from people who they consider their peers. Once again, the finding that the information is good will cause them to naturally share it with others. The last methods of promotion are press releases, articles on other websites, guest blogging spaces and any other way that you can dream up to get the knowledge out to people who are interested.

Follow this type of process and your website rankings will build higher and higher. You must continue the process over and over again, always adding more content to your website and building the trust on the subject that Google has for you. Each piece of content is a brick, and your rankings are the result of that brick-by-brick build.

Raymond Santopietro is the lead strategist of Focus Internet Services, a Las Vegas based seo company. They can be reached at 702-997-1252

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Raymond Santopietro is president of Focus Internet Services, a Las Vegas-based online marketing and internet strategy firm. With a decade of online marketing experience, his company handles the development and exposure of a diverse portfolio of both local and national businesses, utilizing a unique mix of search engine optimization, online marketing and social media management to achieve unmatched results. He can be reached directly at this address or through the company website at focusinternetservices.com.